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Possessing only three legs and a thorax, the Houndeye is a faint yellow-green in color, with electric blue tiger-like stripes adorning its spine. In place of a head there is a large, black, insect-like compound eye protected by eyelids. Houndeyes apparently communicate through a series of high-pitched sounds somewhat similar to the barking of dogs, on which its behavior and movement are also partially based, hence its name (its sounds are actually based on that of dogs).[2] Like most of the creatures found on Xen, Houndeyes are studied in Black Mesa's Sector E.

Houndeyes are first encountered in Unforeseen Consequences, where one will rush to two scientists and may kill them if the player does not kill it.

The Houndeye is an excellent example of a social animal in terms of pack hunting. While a shy and timid creature by itself, groups of three or more display resonant behavior, emitting destructive harmonic sonic attacks in shock waves, capable of injuring those they attack or destroying nearby objects such as wooden crates or windows. The shock waves are always visible. The eyelids are seen moving only when they are excited.

Although they are not seen displaying this trait often, Houndeyes appear to be carnivorous creatures, as one is seen eating a dead security guard in Half-Life: Blue Shift. The Houndeye's mouth is located on the underside of its belly, close to the eye, filled with what appear to be fang-like incisors.

It appears that, the more Houndeyes there are in a single squad, the more dangerous their shock waves are. A lone Houndeye won't do too much, but a pack of at least 4 can really do some damage. If a squad leader is killed, the entire squad is weakened. Their shock wave colors range from white, sky blue, dark blue, and violet, white signifying a weak shock wave.[3]

Houndeyes are often in groups of 4 or more. While they may not seem intimidating at first (as they need to charge their sonic attack), they can inflict massive damage on the player, especially if more of them are charging simultaneously.

If killing a group of Houndeyes simultaneously is not possible while they are charging their sonic attacks, simply shoot at them once (or hit a Houndeye once with the crowbar as a last resort to minimize damage) and they will not be able to attack. They will often flee and jump backwards, giving the player time to eliminate them afterward. Note however, that the Houndeyes will return to attack.

The MP5 is an excellent weapon to use due to the large magazine size, although the SPAS-12 and the Glock are good weapons as well.

Hand Grenades are not always recommended, unless they are off guard. Houndeyes often flee before the explosive can detonate.

When engaging a group of Houndeye, one should avoid standing next to a explosive barrel or crates, as their sonic attack can cause these object to explode.

It is one of the few creatures from the series that went virtually unchanged from the first sketch.[2]

According to Ted Backman, designer of the Houndeye, its anatomy was inspired by a huge three-legged tabby cat named Tripod that lived in his neighborhood as a child.[2]

The Houndeye was originally to use digestive fluid and its claws as attacks,[2] while it only uses its sonic attacks in the final version.

The Houndeye sonic attacks were originally to stun the player to allow the other members of the pack to attack with their claws,[2] while sonic attacks only take a few health points in the final version.

At some point in Half-life development, the damage done by the pack's sonic attack would have increased exponentially, depending on the number of Houndeyes in the pack.[4]

Houndeyes were originally to be lead by a pack leader that would have stood on its rear leg to look around. The animation, "leaderlook," is still present in the model and can be seen in pre-release screenshots for Half-Life.

Its eye was originally to feature prismatic coloring,[2] possibly cut for difficulties in implementation at the time of Half-Life's release. However it was apparently made for the cut Half-Life 2 model.

A proposed color was a green grey color, eventually replaced by a yellow.[2]

The Houndeye was originally to appear in Half-Life 2.[1][2] Much thinner than the bulky, healthy Houndeye seen in Half-Life and its expansions, hunger was to have turned it into a fierce and voracious predator.[2]

The Houndeye model featured in the playable Half-Life 2 Beta files is broken and cannot be viewed nor used. Only the image preview gives insight of his appearance, corroborated by Raising the Bar.[1]

Like the Bullsquid, also cut from Half-Life 2, it was to be glimpsed during the original train ride to City 17[2] and appear in the Canals.[5] Some Houndeyes can be found in the WC mappack map "prefab_canals.vmf," last edited December 2002.[5]

Houndeyes were also to be seen in a slideshow revealing the events between Half-Life and Half-Life 2 to be shown to Gordon at Eli's lab. In one of the images, Houndeyes were to be seen roaming in packs in suburban areas.[2]